


Still dancing with your Demons

by poemygod



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-09-20 05:21:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9477365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poemygod/pseuds/poemygod
Summary: Everybody has demons that haunt them. Sometimes those nightmares are real.





	

Nothing felt right anymore.

Her sleep was restless and her days were filled with dark bags under her eyes, surviving on coffee alone.

It’s never the demons that you can see.

Lips touching the rim of her mug, she paused looking at the clock, the red flash of the numbers trying to hypnotize her. Lulling her into a state of complete indifference.

Sipping from the now cold liquid, her nose wrinkled up and she set the coffee aside. It was probably too late to be drinking all that caffeine anyways.

Instead, she walked the cup to the sink, dumping it down the drain and leaving it sitting on the counter to clean later. Her mind told her to go to bed, but her feet carried her to the fridge and she was grabbing a beer without thinking about it.

Flicking the bottle cap at the garbage can, Kate leaned against the counter with the bottle kicked back against her lips. She shouldn’t be drinking, but it hardly felt like there were any other options.

With a little exhale, she swallowed the beer she had gulped down and looked over at the spare bedroom. ‘Well shit… ‘ Wincing, she felt a pang of guilt wash through her. She’d told Bucky that she would go to bed hours ago if the annoyingly bright clock in the kitchen was correct.

With another long swallow, she finished the beer and left the bottle on the counter. Another thing to clean up later. Wandering towards the couch, she face planted into the cushions, closing her eyes for the briefest moment before rolling onto her side. Tonight, she didn’t want to sleep.

Everything that made her Hawkeye also left her a broken version of the person she wanted to be. It was beginning to catch up with her. Had she made the right decision all those years ago? Fumbling to grab the clicker, she turned on whatever nonsense show had been on earlier that night. Background noise.

Her eyes were heavy, despite her best efforts to stay awake. Whatever was on the Food Network wasn’t helping either. She kept looking towards the bedroom Bucky was sleeping in and wondering if he was having as hard a time as she was. Tucking her knees up, she felt Lucky jump onto the couch with her, curling up in the space behind her with his head balanced on her hip.

Finding comfort in his solid warmth, she felt herself finally drift off, hopeful that the dreams would be kept at bay by her loyal guard dog.

>>\------------>>

It never starts out the same way.

This time the world was dark. She couldn’t make out her surroundings, the chill in the air making her shiver as she walked along aimlessly. Nothing filtered through the inky blackness, bright eyes wandering over what she hoped was the sky in search of the moon.

A sense of dread welling up in her chest, the movement of her feet became sluggish, trudging through molasses with no real destination. It slowly started to wear at her paranoia, glancing behind here with each passing moment. Why would someone follow her?

Heart pounding in her ears, the movement of her feet stopped and suddenly she was falling. Forwards or backwards? The concepts of up and down disappeared from her mind and her head spun. A cacophony of fear echoed around her, unable to distinguish what the noise was. It was deafening, overwhelming her thoughts.

Pain sparked behind her eyes, the need to cry out present in the back of her mind, but her body not responding. The pressure in her chest intensified and suddenly the noises that seemed unintelligible began to become clear. She was screaming, or at least attempting to.

Eyes snapping open, wide with fear and pupils dilated with sleep, Bucky stared down at her. His knee in her chest made it impossible to take in a breath and her screams had been silenced by his grip around her throat. Thankful that the fingers wrapped over her esophagus were flesh, she kicked her legs up, making contact with the back of his head.

Lucky barking filtered into her consciousness and she tried hard to break free from the man pinning her into the couch. Gripping at his wrist, she used all her weight to fling them into the floor, gasping for air as she jumped up to scramble away from him.

Something was wrong.

Despite her want to get away, she was not quick enough, falling hard into the ground as he wrapped a hand over her ankle and tugged her back. Bare feet kicked against his hold, feeling remorse with each blow she landed against his face.

“Bucky! Wake up! Let me go!” Kate could feel the harshness in her voice as she yelled at him; panic beginning to well in her chest. He looked up at her, steely eyes practically glazed over and her breath caught, unable to tear her gaze away. She’d never seen such laser focus and detachment muddled together in one look. The man that she bundled up on the couch with was not there.

His gaze spoke of ill intent and she knew that this was a survival game now. Whatever had set him back, appealing to the Bucky she knew and loved would get her nowhere. This would be a fight to the end.

Landing a solid kick against his nose, she rolled away, grabbing at the quiver that was nestled beside the couch. She didn’t have a bow, but her fingers plucked out three arrows, flinging them at him as he moved to stand up.

One in the foot, one in the thigh, one grazing his side.

She would feel remorse later, if she made it out of this. Her sense of accomplishment quickly faded as he moved on past the arrows in his leg, not hindered by their presence at all. Darting away from him, she leapt over the couch in a single step, grappling for another arrow as she flung it over her shoulder.

The explosive tip broke away, leaving a dent in the floor as it detonated, but didn’t stop the soldier determinedly chasing after her. Lucky lunged and she felt herself screaming before the metal arm connected with the dogs side, sending him flying into the wall. Gritting her teeth, she yanked free an EMP arrow and watched as it attached to Bucky’s arm, a shock wave rocking through the limb and the barest semblance of pain crossing his features.

Her fingers could almost grip the counter top, the door not much further away. As quickly as hope bubbled in her chest, it was ripped away as his hand snatched at dark hair, yanking her back. Fumbling on the counter, she came away with her empty beer bottle, bashing it over his head before her own was slammed into the ground.

Everything spun, eyes rolling in her head as he slammed her head again, the sickening crack deadened by the ringing in her ears. Her trick arrow had only bought her a moment of time, metal fingers wrapping over her throat this time.

“Bucky... Please…” She knew begging wouldn’t get her anywhere, but she had to try, hand coming up to claw at his silver wrist. The constriction of her airway was quick, breathing quickly becoming difficult. He should have been able to squeeze the life out of her in seconds. Something seemed to be holding him back. Whether he was lost in a nightmare or truly beyond her, Kate would never know.

Gasping in short breaths, darkness crept at the edge of her vision and she struggled to maintain her hold on his wrist. What had he told her? If she needed him, all she needed to do was say the words and he would come. With each missed breath, they slipped further away and her heart faltered in its pattern. “Ya…” Kicking against him as hard as she could, her movements became sluggish, tears spilling down her cheeks and slipping into dark strands that pooled around her head.

“Ya… lyublyu... tebya…” Choking out the words, she tried to repeat them again, her vision blurred and quickly narrowing down to a pinpoint. She needed him. He would come. He had promised to always come. Hands reaching up, she pushed at his face pathetically, only causing his grip to tighten further. The world slipped into complete darkness, arms falling away as her movements began to still, the soft words hanging on her lips.

“Ya lyublyu.. tebya.”


End file.
